Sell My Soul
by PokimpseeGoomba26
Summary: Naruto brought Sasuke back after the battle at the Valley of the End, but at what cost? Many sacrifices were made but perhaps the biggest has yet to be made. Does Naruto have the strength to back up his words? Sasuke will have to choose between one or the other. He can't have both. Which will he choose when it matters most? HIATUS
1. Bait

**Here we are! This is the revised version of **_**Bait.**_** I didn't like how it was in first person so I rewrote it in third. I'm more comfortable with third anyway. The same thing is happening with the second chapter as well.**

**I will still be updating but I don't know when that'll be. Just be patient and put the pitchforks and torches down. **

**I hope this version is better. It's practically the same but just transferred to third. Enjoy!**

* * *

His legs were burning, the wind was tearing through clothes, and his heart was pounding in his ears. After leaving Rock Lee to fight Kimimaro, Naruto sprinted after Sasuke. He could definitely tell Sasuke's gotten stronger, but he has too, and he won't go down so easily.

He will bring him back.

Sensing the raven's chakra, Naruto increased his speed, hoping to catch up to him since he was so close. When he left the forest, he was standing at the edge looking down to the valley below. In between two building-sized statues, was a waterfall just as big. It bled into the valley and created a river that flowed through the cliff sides.

The blonde jumped to the statue of the Shodai Hokage, and co-founder of the Leaf, Senju Hashirama. He looked around, scanning for his teammate and found him walking away from Konoha. He was on the statue of the other founder of the Leaf and former head of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Madara.

"Sasuke!" Said raven continued walking like he didn't hear him or just didn't care. Furious at the lack of response, Naruto did the only thing he was best at.

"Are you gonna run away again?!"

The stopped Sasuke in his tracks. He turned and what he looked like made the blonde's stomach churn. Half of his face was covered in Orochimaru's curse mark, and his pupil was golden while the whites of his eyes were black.

Emotions swirled in those corrupted eyes, but only a few stood out. Hate, pain, a thirst for vengeance; feelings no one could understand except for the two shinobi present. Naruto's tried to understand these feeling _with _Sasuke, but he wouldn't let him.

The Uchiha began talking but it flew over the blonde's head as he thought of his nakama. He thought of Sakura, Iruka, Kakashi. The life they had before shit hit the fan, when they were just a team, friends, and rivals. Back when nothing changed and Sasuke was still a bastard and Naruto was an idiot.

Then thought of his fallen comrades invaded his mind. Neji, Chouji, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Lee. They all sacrificed themselves to bring this bastard back home and he doesn't even care.

That was the final straw.

Naruto wasn't going to let their sacrifices go to waste and he was going to bring Sasuke back, no matter what. With that said, he focused his chakra to his feet and leapt onto the other statue, tackling Sasuke to the ground, and with all the strength he possessed, socked him right in the face. _Maybe that'll wake him up_, Naruto thought.

But it was no use; the raven was unaffected, and spat blood on Naruto's face, and began talking about abandoning his friends, and going to Orochimaru will make him stronger. How Naruto doesn't know what it's like to come home and find your entire can slaughtered by your brother.

He kicks the blonde off him as Naruto tries to convince him to go back, and that his friends stronger than any power-crazed, snake-man. Nothing gets through, and he figures they'll have to do this the way they've always done it; with their kicks, fists, biting words, and their hearts on the line.

* * *

They fought all over The Valley of the End, and nearly destroyed it in the process. Sasuke was right about one thing; this really is the perfect place to fight each other like this. Naruto could feel all of their emotions blend together and fuel the fire burning in their souls.

Naruto could feel the Kyuubi forcing its way through his body. The chakra engulfed him, making it eyes narrow and become red, with slit pupils (like a fox). The whisker marks on his faced became bolder and more pronounced, giving a more menacing look to his features. He didn't want it to come to this, but it looks like he never had a choice to begin with. But the blonde wasn't the only one changing.

Sasuke's skin turned grey, with a black cross stretching across his nose. His canine teeth became pointed, and his hair grew to be at his waist as it faded to a teal blue. The sound of fabric reached the blonde's ears when two big, scaly hands sprouted from his teammates back.

Both began their jutsus at the same time; Naruto, using the demon chakra to create his Rasengan, and Sasuke, using his new strength for his Chidori. They looked at each other, different emotions flowing through them. But that disappeared when they moved as one as they shot across the valley, towards the other.

"Chidori!"

"Rasengan!"

Their voices echoed, and they collided. An explosion sounded and wind whirled everywhere, and lightening crackled. The jutsus thrashed violently for a few heartbeats then subsided, leaving a vacuum where the two genin were saying their final goodbyes.

"You were my first friend and are my _best _friend," the blonde started. "You understand me, and didn't hate me or pity me. You treated me like a person instead of a demon." He grinned so widely, his eyes scrunched together. "That's why I'm willing to do anything to bring you back."

"Hn. You don't know anything," he glared as he said this, but the blonde was unaffected. It wasn't anything he'd felt before after all. "What could you possibly do that could make me go back?" Sasuke hissed.

Naruto just crossed his arms over his chest and put his weight on one foot. "I can offer something Orochimaru can't," he spoke with confidence. He knew that if this didn't work, there's was no chance the raven was coming back, but he had to try.

"And what's that?"

"What is Itachi looking for?" Seconds passed but the Uchiha said nothing. Naruto sighed impatiently and relaxed his features, dropping his arms. "Come on, teme. You're smarted than this. The tailed beasts. I can give myself to you as bait for Itachi."**1** This caught his attention and the blonde inwardly smirked.

Hook, line, and sinker.

"You can kill him then and there, the Leaf loses one more threat, I get my best friend back, and you won't be a criminal and get to stay in Konoha. Nobody loses, well except for Itachi and Orochimaru."

If Naruto were anyone else then no one would've have been able to see the surprise in those onyx eyes. This time his smirk showed and the outside and the raven scowled in response.

"Are you seriously going to let me take advantage of you like that?" **2 **

"Dattebayo!" Naruto shouted and gave the 'good guy pose' giving the Uchiha a thumbs up.

The raven just rolled his eyes. "Hn. Dobe."

Their world faded and Naruto fell on his ass with a _thud!_ As usual, Sasuke landed on his feet with perfect grace. The blonde got up and brushed to dust off his clothes, and laced his fingers behind his head, while flashing a blinding smile.

His best friend just sighed at his idiocy and began walking back to Konoha, but Naruto didn't move an inch. Not sensing his teammate behind him, Sasuke turned around and gave a 'why the hell aren't you moving?' kind of face. He received a pointed look in return and sighed a second time.

"Fine, you win. I'll come back with you but you have to keep up you end of the bargain."

"Teme! Same goes for you then," and with that Sasuke held out his hand to seal the deal, but Naruto just shook his head. "No way. If we're going to do this, we're going to do it right."

He pulled the last kunai from his holster and pierced the skin on his right palm. Blood fell from the wound as Naruto handed Sasuke the kunai. The raven understood and did the same with his right hand, the same thing happening. Then they joined hands, their blood mixing together as a sign that they were even more connected than before, and if one breaks this deal, then only a slow, painful death would await as punishment.

Naruto grinned as they pulled apart, but not for the reason you would think. Sure, he convinced the Uchiha to come back, but no. This was the a little bit of personal revenge for being a bastard through the whole thing. Said teme headed for the village once more, but just like last time, he was stopped with a call of his name.

"Hey Sasuke! Hang on, there's something else I need to tell you." Annoyance flitted over the raven's features as Naruto walked up to him. "Gotta make this look real-tebayo."

After he said that, he cocked his fist low and slugged the raven right in the stomach. Choking, his eyes widened, until they narrowed into a glare that spat fire and brimstone. His knees gave out and he collapsed into Naruto's arms. Said blonde just threw him over his shoulder and began the trek back to Konoha.

He smiled to himself as he thought of going back home _with_ Sasuke. The thought made his stomach flutter with butterflies. He did it and now no one else will have to die or get hurt to finish this mission or any future mission this would've undoubtedly bring. No more sacrifices and all it took was for Naruto to sell his soul to the devil.

* * *

**1**** I'm sorry (not really) but I couldn't help the innuendo. This is a T fic so I'm having my fun with that. Plus, it's funny.**

**2 ****Again, couldn't resist! We all know we're perverts, so why hide it?**

**Hopefully this chapter is better than the original, and doesn't suck nearly as bad. It's not beta-read or anything so all mistakes are my own, and yada yada. I just didn't feel like going back to find any mistakes.**

**Stay tuned for more of **_**Sell My Soul**_** and check out my other story **_**This is A Party to Remember.**_** I don't know when I'm going to update but probably very soon.**


	2. Chase

**And here's the promised edit. The first one went pretty smoothly so I just moved onto this one almost immediately after. And considering have of this chapter was**_** already**_** in third it was pretty easy.**

**Again, hope the edit is better than the original. It was just too cheesy for my tastes (and some reviewers'), so I fixed it! **

**Now enjoy, read, review, love me and tell me how awesome I am.**

* * *

Naruto met up with Kakashi a while after knocking Sasuke on his ass. The sensei offered to carry Sasuke, but Naruto wouldn't let him. He told himself it was because he wanted Sakura to see him fulfilling his promise and bringing the bastard back, without any help. But it was a very annoying journey, since Kakashi kept asking questions like, "You didn't kill him, did you?" and "Are you okay?"

The blonde was better than okay. He just beat his rival by using his weakest aspect; his brain. So of course he was feeling great, and maybe a bit cocky, but none of that matter. The mission was complete and Naruto looks damn good because of it.

The jounin also told him that medical nins were taking care of the others and that they were going to be okay. You could see the tension leave his body after he heard that sentence based of Kakashi's eyes-smile. Gaara and his siblings helped too and Naruto made a mental note to thank them later.

Going back seemed to take _forever_. Maybe it was because the blonde wasn't focused on a single objective anymore. But that wasn't what Naruto was complaining about. It was the fact that Sasuke owed Naruto ramen since he was so damn_ heavy_. Carrying his heavy ass isn't as fun as it seems when you're almost out of chakra, especially since it was wasted in the fight and from running at top speed. Did you know did takes _three days_ to get to The Valley of the End from Konoha? Yeah, that meant three _more_ days to get back with baggage.

The blonde was sort of regretting slugging Sasuke. That is, until he thought it over. Nope, no regret whatsoever.

They could see the gates leading to Konoha. Pakkun had run on ahead to report back that they were coming soon, and so they weren't surprised to see medical nins. Slowing down, and jumping to the ground, Naruto and Kakashi walked the rest of the way and that unforgettable bubble-gum pink hair could easily be seen.

"Naruto!"

"Hey Sakura-chan!" Said girl ran straight towards him with tears in her eyes. Whether it was for him keeping his promise, or for the unconscious bastard, he couldn't tell.

Gently putting Sasuke on a stretcher, Sakura and the medic-nins were off to the hospital. Standing at the gate were Kakashi and Naruto. They started following the path that led to the hospital after some convincing from the silver-haired jounin.

"We should get you to the hospital too. You look pretty beat up," he said. "You did well, Naruto. I know it wasn't easy taking on that many enemies…"

The blonde heard nothing after that as his vision left him. Darkness took over, and he vaguely heard Kakashi call his name before he fell face first into the pavement. It didn't hurt and he was too tired to wonder if that should be good or bad, but he didn't care anymore. He deserved a rest.

He woke up in pain. _Everything _hurt. And it only got worse when he tried to move and open his eyes. Brightness assaulted retinas and the white walls only made it worse, so he just closed his eyes tight as he groaned.

Hearing movement to his left, Naruto tried to open his eyes, slowly this time. He succeeded and looked to where the noise came from. What- or for this matter who- he saw was Sakura with tears in her own eyes, and Kakashi leaning against the wall, nose deep in his perverted book.

Some else was in the corner; none other than the bastard himself. He looked pretty neutral but Naruto could see he was proud over the fact the blonde was covered in bandages, while he himself only had a few here or there.

Naruto looked like a blonde mummy with his bandages on his stomach and chest, as well as on his face, across his nose, and wrapping around his head. The only bandage they had in common was one on each of their right hands.

He grunted in pain when he tried to sit up, and he noticed the smallest smirk on Sasuke's face as he flopped back down on the bed. Glaring, he managed to sit up on the second attempt without making a noise. The roles switched as Sasuke began glaring and Naruto began smirking.

Kakashi closed his book and walked to the bed. "Looks like trying to fight each other to the death didn't change anything in your relationship." Sakura joined him and stood next to the bed as well. "Good to know things like literally trying to kill each other doesn't change suck a beautiful friendship. Isn't that right, Sakura?"

She nodded as she wiped her eyes. "Thank you Naruto. You kept your promise." She gave him a smile that almost made the bloodshed worth it. Almost. The blonde didn't react like he usually would. He would've undoubtedly blushed and flustered. He would've scratched the back of his head and brag about how it easy it was.

But he didn't. He just said, "No problem," and returned her smile with his own blinding one. Neither noticed the dark eyebrow that raised at the change of attitude.

"So Naruto," the pinkette started. "How did you manage to convince him? Did you and Sasuke-kun really fight?"

The smile on the blonde's lips became strained and he cast a glance at Sasuke. He barely shook his head 'no' but Naruto caught it. They silently agreed that they wouldn't tell anyone about their agreement. However, they both knew that Kakashi was suspicious and so they would have to stay on their toes. Naruto looked back at Sakura and did the most expected reaction the Number-One, Knuckleheaded Ninja would do.

Gloat.

"Of course!" he yelled. "I beat the hell out of the teme! Didn't you see him on my shoulder? I had to carry him _aaaalllll_ the way back since he just crumbled like a little girl." Feeling the glare on the side of his head, Naruto turned to the owner and smirked. "And you're not light either, teme. You need to lose some weight."

"I'm not as fat as you dobe." He crossed his arms and kept his face blank. "It's all that ramen you eat. I'm pretty sure broth runs through your veins instead of blood." The other half of their team tried to hide their snickers. Poorly. It only proved to further annoy the blonde.

"Teme! At least I can use proper English. I mean, 'Hn' isn't even a word."

"But my brain isn't faulty like some dumbass I know."

"And who is that exactly?" Kakashi sighed disappointedly, Sakura slapped her hand to her face, and Sasuke gave a victorious smirk.

Confusion.

Processing.

Realizing.

"Oi!" Naruto shouted indignantly. "I am _not _a dumbass you bastard!"

And so the meeting at the hospital continued like that for a few hours. Arguments and insults would fly across the room and Kakashi and Sakura just relaxed, thinking everything was back to normal.

Eventually though, Sakura had to leave, and Sasuke had return to his room to be looked at. Kakashi told Naruto everyone who went on the retrieval mission was going to make a full recovery. The blonde promised himself that he would go and visit them once it felt like his leg wouldn't shatter if he tried to stand.

Soon, his sensei left too, leaving Naruto sitting on his bed alone. He smiled to himself. He did it; he brought _the _Uchiha Sasuke back to Konoha. If that wasn't impressive, then he didn't know what was. _Ah, whatever_, he thought. _This village is full of pricks anyway. _Deciding that sleep was a good idea, he slid down so that his head was on the pillow and waited for sleep to come.

* * *

_Naruto woke up lying on his back and unable to see. He didn't move and surveyed his surroundings, noticing that he wasn't in the hospital anymore. Slowly getting to his feet, Naruto looked around once more, now that he could see a bit better._

_He was in a forest, surrounded by mist. This forest was dense in trees and had an ominous glow to it, thanks to the shine of the moon. The blonde started walking towards the moon in an effort to reach the end of the forest, since he couldn't see anyway out through the mist. Hearing a sound, he stopped dead in his tracks, and crouched down._

_His hand went straight to his right leg, where his kunai pouch should be, only to find his leg still in the hospital clothing. Mentally cursing, the teen crawled to a tree and hid behind it. Another noise was heard, and it sounded awfully like a twig snapping under a shoe._

_Making his breath as silent as possible, Naruto waited until the noises were louder. When the person sounded close enough, the genin sprang from his hiding spot, landing on…_

_Nothing._

_The person moved before Naruto could properly ambush them, and he cursed, out loud this time. He turned to jump to another hiding spot, only to feel something smack him in the back. He fell forward, and before the blonde could react he was pinned to ground. Trying to squirm to get this shithead off of him, said person sat with all his weight against Naruto and pinned his right arm behind his back., making all movement impossible._

_Starting to panic, the genin tried to get a good look at the person on top of him. Nothing but a silhouette and glaring red eyes was what he found. Those eyes looked so familiar, and reminded him of Sasuke. His neck was starting to hurt from craning it, so he let his face relax against the ground and started talking, not able to keep calm without his mouth moving._

"_Who are you? What do you want?" Naruto asked, hoping his voice sounded steady. He waited, but the stranger said nothing. So he asked once more. The response made his blood freeze in his veins._

"_You, Uzumaki Naruto." The voice was like silk, so smooth that if he wasn't in this situation, Naruto wouldn't mind listening to this man talk more._

"_W-what? How do you know who I am?" Feeling more panicked now, the blonde started thinking of was thinking of ways to get out of this. Fast._

"_You didn't follow the rules, and now you've interfered with the plans I've set. That isn't tolerable."_

_Feeling his captor shift to retrieve something, Naruto took his chance. Bucking back, he managed to get the stranger off of him and bolted farther into the forest. He could hear the stranger following him and he looked around, finding a sharp turn he almost overlooked if wasn't _trying _to find it. Taking a chance he sped up and turned the corner, nearly falling flat on his ass, but managing to stay standing._

_The blonde could hear his heartbeat in his ears and feel his lungs burning, but he couldn't hear anyone chasing after him anymore. Stopping to catch his breath, he didn't hear the sound of a kunai being retrieved from its sheath. The genin stood straight up and scanned the area to see a way out or find the stranger._

_Before he could start to move again, he gasped as a sharp pain ripped through his body. He looked down to see blood falling to the ground and the blade of a kunai pierced through his chest. Straight through his heart. He opened his mouth to scream…_

"AAAAAHHHHH!" His scream resounded through the halls, as he bolted up in his bed. He couldn't breathe, couldn't feel. His chest was rising and falling at a rapid pace but no air was coming in. Everything was numb except for the fear that was beginning to cloud his mind, barely noticing the nurses flooding into the room. Panicked and gasping for breath, his hands and eyes shot to his chest, checking for blood or the kunai.

Nothing was there.

Feeling the panic subside, the blonde released a relieved sigh. He surrendered to the nurses as they checked to see what was wrong. He didn't care; he was alive and didn't have a weapon lodged in his chest.

Feeling someone's gaze, he followed the feeling and found Sasuke in the doorway. Azure eyes widened when they saw hidden concern behind onyx orbs. He smiled a reassuring smile and the raven scowled, that concern disappearing (not completely) and becoming annoyance.

He could still see some curiosity, and the smiled slipped of his face. Now, Sasuke knew whatever this was, it was serious and should be treated as such. Whatever he dreamed could become very real, very quickly. Naruto mouthed 'later' and turned his attention to the nurses examining him.

"There's nothing wrong," one of them said. A nurse with muddy brown hair and pale blue eyes started. "We're going to give you some medicine that'll make you go to sleep, okay?" She explained everything like he was a child that couldn't put two and two together.

He nodded nonetheless and his eyes followed the retreating nurses. Not seeing Sasuke, he sighed and closed his eyes. The drug was quick at work and soon he was asleep, not caring that the last nurse left. The last thing he remembered before embracing the darkness, were those red eyes. A shiver tore through his body and scrunched his own eyes tight, hoping that would make those crimson orbs disappear.

* * *

**Aaaaannnndddd done! Much better if I do say so myself, which I do. But that's just my awesomeness talking, so disregard that sentence. It didn't take as long as I thought, honestly. I figured it would take forever, for both revisions, but I spent like, an hour on each.**

**Same deal with the errors. Too lazy to do any other editing, so the mistakes are my own. If I messed up big time, tell me and I'll fix it. And the updates, it might be a while. I've got finals coming up so don't expect anything tomorrow.**

**Hope you enjoyed and think this is better than the original, like I do.**


	3. Sentence

**Me: *is currently hiding on a locked closet from the evil this day brings***

**Sasuke: -.-" Hiding from Tuesdays **_**again**_**? **

**Naruto: Can ya blame her? **_**Every**_** Tuesday something bad has****happened and I think she's permanently scarred after last week.**

**Sasuke: A table dropped on her foot, so what? Her foot wasn't even broken! She needs to stop being a scaredy-cat.**

**Me: *sticks hand out and flips off the emo-bastard*It still hurt like hell you tomato-loving-duck-ass!**

**Naruto:*Sigh* New chapter and it's written in third-person! And she wants to thank everyone who reviewed and sent feedback! Thank you for your support!**

**Sasuke: There's YAOI, that means Boy on Boy action in this story so get the hell out if you don't want it. Mine and Naruto's dirty mouths. All the characters of **_**Naruto **_**belong to Masashi Kishimoto. She only owns this sucky plot.  
**

**Me: *continues hiding in closet*  
**

* * *

After a week in the hospital, both Naruto and Sasuke were released with no serious damage. Team 7 was requested to meet the Hokage and negotiate a punishment for the-almost-traitor Uchiha. Even though he had come back, he still needed to be punished in some shape or form. All of Team 7 could feel the tension emitting from the other side of the door, which led to the Hokage's office.

Kakashi knocked on the door to signify that they were there and to not have sake bottles or pens thrown at the ninjas. After hearing the "Enter!" everyone filed in, Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto, and lastly Sasuke. They all stood in a line in front of Tsunade's desk, respectfully-fearfully-waiting for her to open her mouth. Her honeyed eyes trailed over them, one by one, until they landed on Sasuke.

"Right, I'm going to be very quick with this, seeing as you were successfully brought back." She placed her elbows on her desk, lacing her fingers, and leaning them against her chin. "Your sentence will be short and simple. You are to be under surveillance by two teams of ANBU members until further notice. They will be watching you day and night switching out throughout the day and at random patterns, so no trying to figure out their shifts. Any questions?"

The room was filled with shocked silence. The sentence was so light, even the person receiving it was thrown through a loop. Just _watching_? Nothing else? Even if it was for an undefined time period, it was still too easy.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and asked, "What's the catch?"

"Hm? No catch." But her words were betrayed by the devious smirk that was curling her lips. "Oh, I seemed to have forgotten something. You will have to be accompanied by a member of your team everywhere you go, since ANBU can't be seen by anyone."

Jaws hit the ground-except the bastard's whose eye merely widened. "And considering that Sakura is a female, she can't follow you to the bathroom or springs." The pink-ette visibly deflated at this. She was looking forward to stalking- I mean watching-the heart-throb of a genin on her left.

"Kakashi is your teacher and would be a good choice, if he didn't read the Icha Icha series." This sentence was followed by a glare towards the silver-haired man, who found an interesting spot on the ceiling that was just _fascinating_. "This has too much influence on his actions since he's so laid back with his students. Things may get… out of hand."

That only left one choice. Tsunade looked on with sadistic glee as the expression on the Uchiha's face was turning from fearful to mortified. Sakura's was imploring and pleading, trying not to believe that the blonde idiot was going to stalk- ahem, _watch _-_her_. Kakashi had that twinkle in his eye that promised nothing but misery and horrible emotional torture in the next few , still as oblivious as ever, was concentrating on just who would watch the young raven.

Smirk turned into a full out _evil _grin as she uttered this sentence, "Uzumaki Naruto, you are hereby given the responsibility to observe and report on Uchiha Sasuke's behavior for an undefined time period."

Realization dawned on the blue-eyed shinobi and proceeded to sputter. "No way Baa-chan! I'm not 'observing' this pale-bastard!" Naruto outraged, shaking his head back and forth furiously, and waving his arms in the shape of an X.

"Tsunade-sama," Sakura hesitantly stepped in, "Maybe this isn't the wisest choice. I mean, they don't get along very well and this might make things worse." Inside her head, she was boiling. _How DARE she take my Sasuke-kun away from me?! Who does she think she is?! CHA!_

"And I'm not going to spend my time with this idiot all the time." The tick on the raven's brow was very prominent. "Just being around his pisses me off. Plus, ramen every day? Not going to happen." He crossed his arms over his chest and stood in a 'definitely _not_' position.

"See? This is what I have to put up with! This is not going to happen. No ma'am, uh-uh. Over my dead body. And I mean just look-"

A violent slam to the desk stopped all words from being spoken. The atmosphere was now filled with tension and it was slightly suffocating. "That's the point gaki! You almost _died_! Your injuries were worse than you might've thought and it scared the hell out of me. If it wasn't for the Kyu-"

"Tsunade-sama!" Kakashi interrupted, noticing the blonde genin tensing. "That's enough. What you need to focus on is that fact the he's here now and he's fine. Sasuke will receive his sentence and Naruto will accept his mission."

"…Very well. Observation will start at dawn tomorrow. You are dismissed." Nodding, all shinobi left her office, and headed towards the training grounds. The familiar surrounding forest with the three posts calmed the team, visibly relaxing all of them. Kakashi split them up into teams of two, Sakura and himself, and Naruto with Sasuke, noticing the suspicion on the face of the latter.

Heading into different directions of the training grounds, the rivals found a quiet place to breathe, away from eavesdropping ears and curious eyes. It was a branch of the forest that had a stream flowing freely next to a flat treeless area. The smell of green grass and the sound of calmly rushing water filled their senses. Sasuke turned so he was looking directly at the blonde shinobi, who happened to be looking everywhere but at him.

"Dobe," the raven called, almost softly despite the insult. "What the hell was that just now? What was she going to say?"

"It's nothing teme. Stay out of my business." Even though the words were threatening, the genin's tone was anything but. "That shouldn't matter to you anyway."

Scowling, Sasuke let it go, knowing he wouldn't get anything out of this solemn Naruto. "Fine. What about what happened at the hospital?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure." Finally, he turned to look at the other teen in the clearing. "It felt like something more than a nightmare but I can't be sure."

"Well don't just stand there, tell me about it dumbass." That spark was back in those cerulean eyes, and they narrowed into a glare.

"I was in a forest, and some creep started chasing me. He started mumbling about how I messed up his plans or something, and tried to kill me. His eyes were red and had spots of black in them; they looked a lot like your Sharingan." Said wielder's own eyes widened at recognition began to seep in. "It ended with me trying to get the hell out of there and getting a kunai through my chest." A slight shiver racked his spine as he remembered the feel, the blood, his screams.

_This doesn't make sense, _Sasuke thought. _Shouldn't he be trying to kill _me _instead?_

Forgetting they were supposed to be training, both of them stood there trying to figure out what this meant. Naruto looked at his right palm, where a clean cut scar now lay. _Why didn't the Kyuubi heal it?_ He wondered. Usually he didn't get to keep very many scars.

Shrugging it off, he looked to the sky, noticing how late is actually was. The blonde shinobi walked over to the Uchiha still lost in thought. A mischievous smile took over his lips as he checked to see exactly _how _close he could get to his rival.

Slowly moving to Sasuke's right and getting close to his ear, Naruto let out a deafening "TEME!" and hauled ass back towards the training grounds entrance. The other one was on the ground holding his ear and checked for blood. Having the shit scared out of you while you were thinking scary thoughts always sucked.

"DOBE! I'LL KILL YOU!"

* * *

**Me: *came out of the closet***_**(snicker) **_**There you have it folks! Another chapter! I hope this makes up for me missing a week, I was, uh… busy…**

**Sasuke: Being a cry-baby, you wouldn't shut the hell up!**

**Me: Oh bite me snake-bait! And I didn't cry thank you very much!**

**Sasuke: If you call that river in your room not-**

**Me: ANYWAY, I'm fine and no need to worry! Turns out it wasn't even fractured, just a bit-**

**Naruto: -a lot-**

**Me: -of bruising. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and will still be with me for the next one. *goes back to cowering in the closet***

**Sasuke: Hn. Loser.**

***Random shoe flies from out of nowhere and hits Sasuke dead in the face. Hard.* "Itachi-wannabe!"**

**Naruto: Until next t- Sasuke the door's locked!**


	4. Accident

**Me: Eh-heh *sweat-drop* Now I know it's been a while, but I've been busy. I had to set up my deviantART account, school, and wait for my computer charger since my other one **_**melted**_**. You can understand. Right? *sees angry readers with pitchforks and torches* 0.0" Right. Run away! *sprints away***

**Sasuke: And that my friend… Is sweet revenge.**

**Naruto: Yeah, yeah hush. She really does feel bad though, but her sleeping and eating schedules have been messed up for a while. She hasn't had a decent night's sleep in well over two weeks.**

**Sasuke: It's her own damn fault! She knows her body shuts down necessary body functions when she reads. All authors have that problem.**

**Naruto Didn't I tell you to hush! *sigh* Kimpsee doesn't own **_**Naruto **_**or its characters, that belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

**Sasuke: You know the drill, otherwise you wouldn't be on chapter 4. This one is a hot springs chapter though.**

***hears screams of 'Back away foul demons!' and of terror***

**Naruto: Looks like they found her. Please enjoy. *turns to assaulters* You can't kill her! Or she won't finish the story!**

**Sasuke: But you can torture her! Mwahahahahahahaha!**

**Me: I'm **_**SOOOOO**_** gonna get you for this!**

* * *

Several days since Sasuke received his punishment, Team Seven was allowed to go on missions again. The reason it took so long was that Naruto and Sasuke weren't too keen on their new closeness. There were many fights, so it took many days for them to tolerate each other once more.

When they finally got to go on a mission, it was for a debt collector of Tsunade's. She figured it would be good to give them something long and easy to calm them down. It was a good idea, and that way the ANBU wouldn't have to follow (they only had to follow in the village) and Kakashi could have his team back together.

They had to travel to Kusagakure*, which was located in the northern part of the Country of Earth. One of Tsunade's debt collectors was beginning to make a big fuss, so she sent Kakashi and his team to the collector's home country to make him stop. Of course she didn't plan to pay him; she never did with any of the collectors. It was very long and tedious, but at least the team got to do something.

Currently they were walking towards the gates of Kusagakure. They all had their headbands on, so they passed through without any trouble. Sasuke's headband had to be replaced, but he kept the original as a reminder of why he was still at the village.

Since they were expected, Team Seven was escorted to where they could meet the debt collector. What they saw was a well-kept feudal style house. The main color was a cherry red, too bright for the style of house, and black accents in strange designs. Pillars held up the entrance roof as it was more of a patio then sliding doors.

They were greeted by a portly man with a green yukata and round glasses on the bridge of his nose. His cheeks were plump and rosy, as well was his inflated nose. He was a short man-shorter than Naruto-with his hands crossed over his chest. He looked pleasant enough, but he's an acquaintance of Tsunade, so the team was still on guard.

"Welcome, welcome!" The short man said brightly, as he waved his hands. "I take it you're the Leaf shinobi by your headbands. Come in, come in!" He motioned for them to enter.

"Indeed we are, sir. We've come on behalf of Tsunade-sama." Kakashi politely informed as he followed the man's instructions.

"Wonderful! Tsunade was always a hoot." For a man who's owed money, he surely was an exuberant person. "If you would please follow me, I would like to discuss the negotiations."

Kakashi bowed slightly. "Of course, sir. That is what we are here for after all." And they followed the portly man to an empty room with a single chair. They sat on the tatami mat, across from where the collector was sitting in the chair.

"It seems I've forgotten to introduce myself." The short man smiled. "My name is Takahashi Hideaki."

"I'm Hatake Kakashi. This is Haruno Sakura," she waved and smiled a small smile. "Uzumaki Naruto," he smiled brightly and saluted. "And Uchiha Sasuke," who just 'Hn'ed.

"Lovely to meet you. Now about those negotiations…" And the conversation went on for several hours after that. In the end, Tsunade evaded another debt, the collector was pissed as all hell, and the shinobi we exhausted.

They quickly left, and headed for the road home. Not only were they exhausted after dealing with a man that had a demon hidden underneath, they were hungry and annoyed. Naruto wasn't helping this one bit either.

"He was _so_ fat too! Did you see how it jiggled when he moved? Eeeeww! How could he let himself get that big? Did he have to eat a lot of ramen? Nah, ramen doesn't make you fat; it's a proven fact.**1** Maybe it was because-"

"NARUTO! If another word leaves your mouth, you'll be sorry." Sakura lifted her fist, showing she was dead serious. _That idiot! Can't he see we're all tired, and he can't shut up for two seconds! _Inner Sakura was boiling, and ranting inside her head.

"But Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined, "why do I-" _THWACK! _"Ow! Ow, ow. Why's it always me?" He muttered under his breath lest he get another goose egg.**2 **Sasuke smirked at the dobe's dismay.

"Why don't we all calm down, ne? If I remember correctly, there's a hot springs somewhere around here." The jounin was reading that familiar orange book, but wasn't distracted to where he was going in the least. "Maybe if you behave, we'll go."

"Really Kakashi-sensei?" The pinkette asked hopefully, clasping her hands in front of her chest.

"Really Sakura, but you can't beat up Naruto anymore. Naruto you're not allowed to talk. And Sasuke… Eh, you're good."

"No fair! Why doesn't Sasuke-teme have to do anything?" Naruto complained.

"Because he doesn't do anything annoying." The blonde pouted and crossed his arms over his chest, grumbling. Sasuke looked smug, feeling superior that he doesn't have a ridiculous requirement to fulfill.

* * *

Soon enough they made it to the hot springs, and checked out keys to two rooms, both adjoined to each other. One for Sakura, and one for the boys, seeing as how Naruto couldn't leave Sasuke's side, Kakashi was a pervert, and Sakura might try something on Sasuke, which could result in him 'accidentally' killing her.

After the team settled in their rooms, they went to the springs, each going in a different direction. The only two who didn't split up were the rivals. After a quick warning from their sensei, they agreed that they could tolerate each other for at least twenty minutes.

After a few minutes of searching they found an unoccupied one, and entered the changing room. Turning away from the blonde, Sasuke removed his armbands first and then his shirt. He scowled as he felt his shirt unglue itself from his skin, and threw it into the basket provided to hold his clothes. Next were his shorts and boxers, which he quickly removed and put a towel around his waist just as fast.

"I'm going in first," he stated and without waiting for a response, seated himself in the relaxing waters.

Unaware to him, Naruto watched him strip and was blushing like a school girl. _What's wrong with me? It's not the first time we've been to a hot spring, or even bathed together._ The blonde shook his head and undressed himself, haphazardly throwing his clothes wherever.

Not bothering with a towel, he settled in the hot spring. A sigh of contentment left his lips as the water relaxed his aching muscles. It wasn't just this mission, but months of built-up stress left his body. It felt _so good_.

The raven had his eyes closed, but opened them when Naruto entered the spring. He felt his face heat up once he got a look at the blonde wet and satisfied. Dirty thoughts filled his mind, but he blocked them out. Figuring it was just hormones, he closed his eyes and relaxed once more.

The blonde couldn't take much more of the silence and began to move around in the water. It splashed around, making the ground and the rest of his body become covered in water. He was having fun and starting laughing out loud, until he looked at his teammate. A blush rose up his neck, onto his ears and he swallowed. He looked at the raven's chest, watching the water droplets fall down and blend with the water.

_AAAHHH! What the hell am I doing?! I'm not gay!_ The blonde shook his head harshly and started splashing again, distracting himself. He blamed his perverted thoughts on Kakashi and Jiraiya, considering what they did. He blamed it on Sasuke too, seeing as how it was _his_ body Naruto was looking at.

This thought angered him and he splashed Sasuke right in the face. The Uchiha started and roughly coughed since he inhaled some water. He glared at the dobe, who was looking _so _innocent, and splashed him back with even more water. Naruto sputtered and glared right back, returning the favor. This started an argument, and both boys began a war, splashing each other with water. They choked and spluttered, but continued until Sasuke got tired of the childishness.

_This is stupid. An Uchiha doesn't act like this. _"That's enough dobe. I'm not going to splash around in a pool and act like a child." And with that, he proceeded to exit the spring and walk back. He almost made it too if it wasn't for a body tackling him to the ground.

"No way teme!" Naruto held him down by sitting on his waist. "You always think you're better than everyone, but I'm gonna be Hokage!"

"Get off! I don't want your stupidity rubbing off on me!" Sasuke started struggling but with Naruto's fat ass holding him down, he couldn't escape. Naruto grabbed his wrists and held them above the raven's head, further restricting him.

"Stop struggling teme! You're not going to get away!" Challenging that statement, Sasuke bucked his hips to try and throw the blonde off, but it was futile. Naruto was right, he couldn't escape. After a few more attempts, he gave up deciding not to exhaust himself even more than he already was.

"That's more like it," Naruto said smugly. "See? Even Uchiha Sasuke can be tied down!"

Now that the raven was calmer, he finally noticed their position. Naruto's hot, wet body straddling and pinning Sasuke's panting and sweating body to the ground. The latter's eyes widened as he flushed, blaming his burning face on the blonde.

"Dobe," Sasuke started in a deathly calm, "get the hell off right now."

"Sorry what did you say teme?" He leant down closer so his ear was right above Sasuke's mouth.

"I said, _get the hell off. NOW!_" And get off he did, holding his ear as he waited for his hearing to return.

"Ow! What the fuck teme?! That hurt you bastard!" But the bastard was already gone, clothes and all. "Shit. You can't leave without me remember, or Kakashi's gonna eat us alive!" Naruto yelled as he put on his yukata as fast as lightening and sprinted after the raven, his clothes in his arms.

He caught up and they both headed to their room, never making eye contact. Kakashi was already in the room, on his futon and reading Icha Icha Violence. He glanced at the two rivals, and saw their awkwardness. He snickered to himself and went back to reading. The boys got their futons set and fell asleep almost immediately as their heads hit the pillows.

* * *

Not far from the hot springs was a cave with a single occupant, shrouded in a black cloak with red clouds covering him. He closed his eyes and made a hand sign. Now he was in one of the Akastuki's secret hideouts, where his colleagues were waiting patiently for his return.

"_Any news on the jinchuuriki?_" One, the female, asked.

"He's constantly around one of his teammates, but it's the same teammate." The white side answered calmly.

"**It's quite annoying but he doesn't seem strong so he'll be easy to kill**." The black side added.

Across the way, red eyes looked at Zetsu and asked, "_Which teammate was it? The boy, girl, or the sensei?_"

"_Are you that concerned about your little brother Itachi?_" Blue and huge, his partner mockingly asked.

"_Nonsense. If Kakashi was constantly around the jinchuuriki then it could become a problem,_" Itachi said, always thinking efficiently to work towards their goal.

"It was the boy, Uchiha Sasuke. Apparently, that's part of his punishment for trying to run to Orochimaru."

"**That would suck. To be followed around by that annoying blonde all the time.**"

"_But he looks like he would know what true art is, un._" A blonde with half of his hair in a ponytail nodded.

"_You wouldn't know true art if it hit you in the face. It's eternal beauty, not those ugly creations of yours,_" the blonde's partner deadpanned, disinterested. Deidara grumbled, trying not to get into an argument in front of their leader.

"_This makes things easier then. We can capture Uzumaki Naruto without having to spend our time and, more importantly, money on the Uchiha._" The owner of red eyes and green irises stated.

"_Fuck you and your money Kakuzu. It's about the fucking money, it's about the sacrifice to Jashin-sama. Why don't we just go and kill the son of a bitch now? It'd be a helluva lot easier and I can get my ritual done for today._"

"_No,_" the leader spoke for the first time. "_No one is allowed to interfere with the jinchuuriki except for Kisame and Itachi. But I do want you to wait for a bit, until we get the other jinchuuriki. It has to go in order, otherwise it won't work and all our time and energy would be all for nothing._"

"_Very well. We'll wait for your order._"

The meeting was over and each team went after their own jinchuuriki. Itachi and Kisame returned to their bodies and continued to walk to their destination. Their orders were to wait, but at least this way they could keep an eye on Uzumaki Naruto. Their first meeting was a bit hurried and a waste of time, but this time, it was planned and they would wait for the perfect time to strike, as soon as the order was given.

* * *

***The village of grass. If that's not right, blame google.**

**1****Only in your mind Naruto.**

**2****That's what I call big bumps on your head since I was an itty bitty girl.**

**Me: And done!**

**Naruto: O\\\O We were naked… And I was on top of him…**

**Me: Yup! It's not the first and won't be the last. **

**Sasuke: I hate fan girls. They make things so annoying.**

**Me: Oh? So you don't want Naruto hot, sweaty, and naked on top of you when you go the bath. Fine, I just won't write it anymore.**

**Sasuke:… Now hold on a second, I didn't say that. **

**Naruto: Sasuke, your nose is bleeding.**

**Sasuke: Damn it! *rushes to the bathroom***

**Me: And there you go! Hope you enjoyed, and liked the hot springs scene. I'm not good at writing scenes like that but I hope it was good. I hope this makes up for me being late. Next chapter is gonna be Shippuden time btw!**

**Until next time!~**


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